Operators at the borders: the hero as change agent in border literature

Abstract

This study of borders in literature investigates the ways the frontier and then the border entered the national consciousness and developed into the entities they are presently. The focus here on the border in literature is organized around the role of border heroes as they bring instability and change to the geographic border region and to more metaphoric border regions. This study not only addresses the individual border hero's role and attributes, but also focuses more generally on the border hero's role as an emblem of the struggle for change. Toward this end, I support the importance to border criticism of border agents by showing their presence and essential participation in the work of Américo Paredes, some of the earliest writing on borders and border agents.